7 Tips for Creating Online Video

When shooting an online video, there are a few keys steps you will need to take to make sure your online video is as successful as possible:

1. Try to keep your video short:

As online video watching continues to grow the trend of short-term videos continue to reign as king. This is because many online video audiences prefer fast and quick information and, in order to keep their attention, it is best not to go over the three-minute mark: keep this in mind when deciding on the type of video you want to produce.

2. Don’t ramble on:

For online video, it is important to get the point of your message across as quickly as possible so to keep your audience engaged. To make sure you do this, write a script outline before you shoot and include an introduction, 3 key points of your message, and a closing statement.

3. Ensure your sound is audible:

Many online audiences will forgive distorted frames to a certain extent but bad audio is not as easily forgiven. Test your sound before you shoot to see if you will need additional microphone support.

4. Make sure your shot is lit well:

Simply putting a lamp beside you will result in shadows on the camera. If you don't have the professional lighting equipment one suggestion could be to get in front of a window to allow sunlight and put a light fabric over the window. This will diffuse the light somewhat, creating a nice light. It will be flat light, but it will be way better than having shadows across your face.

5. Practice before you shoot:

In order to ensure a good, clear delivery of your key messages, you will require practice so make sure you do a few trial runs before shooting your final video and stay away from the use of em’s and ah’s.

6. Introduce yourself:

When shooting online video, always introduce yourself, first name and last, and state the point of your message at the start of your video. This will ensure your audience identifies with you and your message from the very beginning and can make an informed decision to keep watching.

7. Stay focused on your camera:

In order to ensure a professional delivery and that your audience stays engaged, try not to get distracted yourself. What this means is keep your focus on the camera, don’t look off screen and don’t fix you hair or touch your face.

- Rozlyn Gibson

Video in the Cloud and your Personal Branding made easy!

What is “video in the cloud”?

To put it simply, “video in the cloud” is video that lives online and it is something that should get familiar with if you are looking for a new way to boost your personal and business brand in 2012.

Lets face it, online video was big 2011, but it is set to get even bigger in 2012! With its ever-growing popularity, this medium is an affective and efficient way of getting and holding your audiences attention in a much more personal way. This is why as more and more people are looking for fast and easy information, creating a your own online video’s is important when looking to boost your online personal brand.

But what should you consider when creating your “video in the cloud” to boost your online personal brand? Here are some suggestions that I think could really help:

Decide how to brand yourself using video:

Having already spent some time developing your personal brand, you will want to make sure any online video content you create does not contradict any text information you have already posted online either about you or your overall brand.

If you have already branded yourself as a Social Media Expert you will want to make sure that this carries over to any video content you put online or risk confusion on about you and your overall brand.

Title and tag your video appropriately:

When you choose your title and tags it is important to think about what key words your network may use when searching for you online. Placing a video in a search engine with a strong title and tagline can really help boost you in the searches, more so than text. This is because there are fewer words for the search engine to filter making titling and tagging a valuable part of how people find you online.

Remember content is king:

The only true way video will help your personal brand is if you have content that is not only worth watching but also worth sharing. To do this, think hard on you’re your audience is, what it is you want to say and also the tone you are going to deliver your message in order to engage your viewers.

- Rozlyn Gibson

4 basics to consider when creating your online video

Creating an online video? As with most things, it is always important to make sure you cover the basics to ensure its success.

Here are some suggestions on how to make sure your video is at its best:

1. Decide on your content

When creating an online video remember that the aim is to inform and keep your audience engaged. To do this, think hard on whom your audience is, what it is you want to say and also the tone you are going to deliver your message in.

2. Include call to actions

You have gotten your audience to watch your online video, then what? Make clear call to actions in the beginning, middle and end of your video, which tell your audience what to do next. These call to actions can be to check out your new product, browse through your website or to contact you for more information.

3. Set your stage

When shooting your video, whether it is shot on a webcam or in a full production, make sure you set your stage. What this means is to make sure you shoot on a clean and neutral background that is lit well, check your audio is audible with no background noise and dress appropriately.

4. Timing

As you are looking for your audience to be fully engaged, try keep your video short and concise as doing so will mean your will be more likely to watch your video to the very end. This will then increase the chances of them understanding your message.

I hope you have found the above tips useful and feel free to check us out at www.videobio.com, follow us on twitter @videobio or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/videobio

Until next time,

Rozlyn Gibson

Webcam for Seniors! Learn a new video skill today.

I mean, hey, if these funny folks can figure it out... or try...

You just have to watch it. And, a good reminder that the webcam is not a mirror!

What's in a startup brand?

I recently attended the GROW conference in Vancouver, Canada. It was a terrific full day session jam packed full of startup entrepreneurs and expert speakers sharing great ideas on how to grow your business, raise financing, build brand and succeed.

It was very inspiring to be in a room full of like-minded people. Founders like myself who were at the same stage of business, challenged with the same things.

One of the panel sessions was on brand. While some of the panel conversation was relevant, I was surprised that so much time was spent on the conventional ‘what is a brand and how do you build one?’ and less on how a brand is valued.

There are still some burning questions that I have as it relates to brand, and I have spent my career building brands. Yet, in this new world of tech startups, many of the conventional brand principles do not apply.

So here it is-- brand valuation— in first and second stage financing, how does brand factor into valuation and how does the Founders brand play into this?

When I asked the question to the panel, the concentrated on the current state of brand awareness. In my view there are really three factors to look at in early stage brands; 1) The Founder brand, 2) Early stage brand awareness (within category) and 3) Brand potential (the quality, current and future value of the brand assets and trademarks).

The brand is ultimately in the eye of the beholder and, therefore, its value is subjective. Steve Jobs is an interesting case in point with his personal brand value pegged at 15% of Apple’s market value. And this is not purely because of his legacy and accrued brilliance but is very much related to his operational focus in how we actively micromanaged every aspect of his business.

Where do you think the value lives in a startup brand?

Small Business, Big voice

One of the best things about being a small business is that you have the ability to test new ideas. So much of starting a smaller business is about trial and error. Finding out what works for you, and what draws in the customer you are looking for. One such area is with online video. Video has the ability to help you connect and engage your customers, in a way that text-based websites just cannot do.

As with most small businesses cost can be an issue. Most companies do not have the budgets that the big guys do. But you know what? Adding video to your company is a very cost effective way to grow your business, in fact you really can’t afford NOT to add video! Here are a few ways that video can help you get heard in the industry:

1. CONNECT WITH YOUR CUSTOMER

The great thing about being a small business is the ability to have a personal connection with your consumer. Video enables you to engage your customers on a personal level. For example say you own auto body shop. With video you could have a live record video chat between the mechanics, and the customers. The mechanic could go through the areas that needed attention, and show you the process, through a range of tutorials. Another effective way that the auto body shop could add value to their services is by offering helpful tips on their website, on vehicle maintenance, between visits.

2. VISIBILITY

Video increases your visibility on-line. Universal searches within Google, have proven that 1 in every 4 of the top searches are video. This statistic shows that if someone does a search, all content by video will come up first giving it maximum visibility. Those videos are more likely to get clicked on, than any text based information n the same subject. Linking onto a website with video, will increase the traffic to the site, and also create “sticky” websites. (Video based websites hold people’s attention longer, and keeps them from clicking to another site, causing them to get “stuck” on them)

3. PRODUCTIVITY

Live video conferencing, and collaborating with remote employees or customers can be invaluable. Having a small business sometimes inhibits you from travelling to and from your suppliers, and or colleagues freely. Video allows you to readily converse with your team effectively. This is a great tool, if you want to have a conference call, and need to trouble shoot an issue. Often emails and text can be ineffective in translating the key messages.

4. ACCESSIBILITY

On of the greatest things about video, and how it can be a benefit to small businesses is its availability. Internet video can be viewed anywhere, and everywhere. On your iPhone, blackberry, iPad, laptop. Anywhere that has a network connection.

5. EMPLOYEE FOCUS

What better way to show your team, than have a short video bio created for each member! This personal touch can really set you apart from your competition. People want to trust in their businesses. Having your employee’s showcased on your website, shows them a) That the company values its team, and believes in them, and b) It shows the customer who they will be working with, and helps them feel connected, right away. This makes for a lasting and loyal relationship!

Video is 53x more likely to appear in the 1st page of search engine results, than text related pages with the same topics. On-line video lives forever, it is an effective, affordable way to get your business noticed!

Elle Boutilier

Top 10 Scripting Tips

Most people know why they’re getting a video made, but many people freeze up because they don’t know what to say with their video.

Here are 10 tips on scripting your video.

1. Start with a paragraph that says who you are, and explains why you’re making your video: “My name is John Kingman. I’m a producer and studio manager for videoBIO. I believe script writing can be demystified, but it takes a top ten list to do it.”

2. Keep your script short: You’ll be tempted to include everything you can think of relating to your video topic, but what you really want to do is make it short and sweet. Write your script once, and then go through and mercilessly cut things out.

3. Write the way you talk: People often make the mistake of writing their script very formally, as if it were a presentation document. Then they start reading from it and stumbling around the words. It’s your voice, so use it when you write. Read what you write out loud to see how it actually sounds coming out.

4. Make broad points, but use detail to back them up: for example, if you’re talking about your past job experience you don’t want to give a chronologic synopsis of your entire life. Hit the big points, and go in for smaller details only when it really helps back up your broader point.

5. Imagine your audience: You’re going to be talking to a camera, but you need to picture who the people watching the final video are, and how they’d like to be talked to. You know your business well enough to figure out who your target audience is. Make sure you’re writing your script for them.

6. Spice it up: You’re not writing a text book here, so make sure to use some imagery and colorful language. You want to engage your audience with information, and to do that you need to make the information delivery interesting.

7. Include an appropriate quote, if possible. A great quote is always a nice way to drive a point home in language better written than we can pull off. Quotes also tell your audience the type of people you admire and look up to. But make sure that you’re quote fits the theme and mood of your script. As Gini Graham Scott said “… you can't fit a square peg in a round hole.”

8. Back up statements you make with statistics and facts: There’s nothing worse than making broad statements with no proof, especially when you’re trying to convince your audience to do business with you. Usually the easiest way to make a statement is through the statement of the statistic in the first place. The audience can piece together the rest.

9. Add a little humor: Adding a joke, or just being a little playful, let’s your audience know that you’re approachable. Certainly there are situations where that’s inappropriate (I’m looking at you, doctors) but for the most part it’s a good rule.

10. Your conclusion should summarize your beginning, and the points you made after: Whatever your opening statement was, this is the point where you justify it. “Script writing is hard, but it really doesn’t have to be. With a few simple tips, say 10 of them, you can be writing effective and compelling scripts in no time."

~ John Kingman